Massive growth expected for mobile app market

Looking for a career change? Consider becoming a mobile application developer.

There is plenty of money to be made there.

In a report released on Wednesday, research firm Gartner Inc. forecast the worldwide mobile app market to surpass US$15.1-billion in revenue in 2011, an increase of 190% from the US$5.2-billion mobile applications generated in 2010. By mid-decade in 2014, Gartner is expected that figure to reach US$58-billion, marking growth of 1,000% from 2010 levels.

“Many are wondering if the app frenzy we have been witnessing is just a fashion, and, like many others, it shall pass,” Stephanie Baghdassarian, research director at Gartner, said in a release. “We do not think so.”

“We strongly believe there is a sizable opportunity for application stores in the future,” she said.

The mobile app industry was largely non-existent as recently as 2008, then Apple’s iPhone spawned a flurry of developer interest in the consumer side of the smartphone market. After multiple competing devices launched in the ensuing months and Apple eventually unveiled the iPad tablet almost precisely one year ago — spawning a revival of industry interest in the long-neglected tablet space — that flurry became a blizzard.

Gartner’s report notes that while the Apple App Store will likely maintain the lion’s share of revenue from the still infant industry through 2014, rival app stores launched by competitors since 2009 have been slowly but surely chipping away at Apple’s dominance. Goole Inc.’s Android Market, Nokia’s Ovi Store, Research In Motion’s (RIM’s) App World, Microsoft Marketplace and Samsung Apps all saw the number of downloads from their respective stores grow in 2010.

Users are also becoming more willing to pay for applications, leading to increased revenue from a combination of direct purchases and more advertising. While free apps are still expected to account for 81% of all downloads from app stores worldwide in 2011, Gartner notes that figure is much lower than it was in 2008 when the app craze began and will decrease further by the end of the year.

“Users will begin paying for more applications as they perceive values in the concept of mobile applications, and they become more trustful of billing mechanisms,” the report said.

Countless new business have launched in the last few years with hopes of capitalizing on the rise of the App Age. Some have devoted dozens of full-time staff and millions of dollars into producing a single app while others have created application production lines of sorts capable of producing smaller one-off apps on a quick turnaround. So far, none have yet found the magic formula for success.

Rest assured, with growth forecasts like these, plenty more are going to look.

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